Archetyp—One of the Largest Dark-Web Drug...

Overview

Eurojust and Europol coordinated a multi-day international operation that disrupted Archetyp, a long-running dark-web marketplace for drugs. Authorities say the platform counted ~3,200 vendors, over 600,000 users, and at least €250 million in transactions. The market’s creator and current administrator—a German national living in Spain—was arrested during the action.

Why Archetyp mattered

Active for more than five years, Archetyp became one of the biggest drug markets of its kind and was notable for allowing listings for fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Investigators estimate ~17,000 active listings at the time of the takedown—underscoring the public-health risk and the market’s reach.

How investigators got there

Authorities combined international cooperation, financial-flow tracing, and digital evidence analysis to map:

Core servers and hosting locations
Moderator roles and key responsibilities
High-volume vendors and supply pipelines

This groundwork enabled a synchronized “action week” aimed at the people, infrastructure, and money that kept Archetyp running.

The action week (11–13 June)

Targets: the platform’s administrator, selected moderators, top vendors, and the servers running the site
Scale: operations in five countries with ~300 officers involved
Results: arrest of the 30-year-old administrator in Spain, seven additional arrests, Archetyp taken offline, and €7.8 million in assets seized

By removing infrastructure and detaining key actors, authorities delivered a significant blow to drug traffickers operating across Europe.

Roles of Eurojust and Europol

Eurojust

Convened coordination meetings to align national teams
Managed mutual legal assistance and European Investigation Orders during the build-up and action days

Europol

Facilitated intelligence exchange and cross-checks
Helped pinpoint high-value targets
Deployed a dark-web specialist to Germany
Stood up a virtual command post for real-time coordination and deconfliction

Contributing authorities (selection)

Germany: Prosecutor General’s Office Frankfurt am Main – Cyber Crime Center; Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA)
Netherlands: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rotterdam; National Police (Rotterdam Unit)
Spain: Investigative Court No. 10 (Barcelona); International Cooperation Section of the Barcelona PPO; National Police
Sweden: Swedish Prosecution Authority; National Unit against Organised Crime (Gothenburg); Swedish National Police; National Operations Department / Swedish Cybercrime Unit
Romania: Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT); National Police
United States (support): relevant federal agencies

OnionSpace note

Major market disruptions are often followed by phishing waves, fake “official mirror” announcements, and refund scams. If you’re verifying links or researching outcomes post-takedown, slow down and re-validate sources before you click.